Captain Marvel is wowing audiences and saving Hollywood with an estimated $160 million box office win for opening weekend. So, what’s it all about and why are audiences going gaga? I’ve got the scoop for you and even a theater recommendation.
CGV Theaters and MARVEL were kind enough to invite me and fellow MiceChat columnist Noe Valladolid to Los Angeles to see MARVEL’s newest film, Captain Marvel. (All photos: MARVEL)
This is a non-spoilery as possible review. If you’ve seen the trailers, there will be nothing new to you here except the lovely intro, which is a tribute to Stan Lee. The audience applauded.
GV is a Korean chain that is just making headway in the USA, so, missing the Korean theater experience, I got fresh squid legs to go with my cheddar popcorn. It was perfect! There are assigned seats, so no hunting for an empty space, and what we saw when we entered was a simple screen like any other theater. The sides of the theater were ordinary blank walls, giving no hint of what lied ahead.
The picture went to 270 degrees during action scenes, but not for all of the film, but the transitions were seamless. The first time this happened at the beginning of the film, much of the audience gasped.
The film itself is much more entertaining than I thought it would be, given the somewhat lackluster trailer, but one thing we noted with great pleasure was that the trailer didn’t give away the entire film like so many others do.
The story starts out with a Kree woman named Vers (pron. “Veers”) who is in training as a member of the elite Starforce squad to control her powers with her mentor, Yon-Rogg, played by Jude Law. They are training to fight their longtime enemies, the Skrull. Veers had been found by the Kree and adopted six years earlier after, as she sees in her nightmares, a Skrull attack upon her ship.
Events lead her to planet C-53, aka Earth. But she’s not alone.
It’s the mid-to late-nineties, as evidenced by the fantastic soundtrack. I loved almost every song on it. Nirvana seemed to clash with the scene in which their music was used, but it being the nineties, they had to jam in Nirvana somewhere.
The Skrull Talos is played by Ben Mendelsohn (Director Orson Krennic, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story) who really steals the show along with the furry star Goose (yes, like in Top Gun):
Here she meets a couple of familiar faces:
She recalls her former life on earth bit by bit, with the help of her best friend and compatriot Maria Rambeaux(the beautiful Lashana Lynch).
…aaaand that’s about as far into it as the trailers went, so I’ll get vague here.
There are unexpected twists and turns, (the Skrull being shapeshifters among other things) and divided loyalties. The dogfights and action scenes are delightful, and the extra screens made them even more so.
The ending was satisfying; the mid-credits scene even more so. And still, people left the theater at the beginning of the credits and before the end-credits humorous capper hit. You’d think most people would know: STAY TIL THE END OF THE CREDITS!!!
I loved Brie Larson’s performance. She keeps her emotions close to the vest while on her mission, and when she does crack her facade, it feels all the more powerful. Jude Law makes the most of his time onscreen as her commander and friend. Samuel L. Jackson is a supreme badass and Clark Gregg is woefully underused. But “Goose” and Ben Mendelsohn are pure gold in this film, and I hope we’ll see more of at least Mendelsohn in upcoming films.
The photos below may contain spoilers.
You have been warned.
The beginning of the film salutes the late Stan Lee. The end salutes fallen Thunderbird Major Stephen “Cajun” Del Bagno, to whom she paid tribute on Twitter at the time of his death in April 2018:
Read about more of the hidden Air Force salutes in Captain Marvel here.
I’m taking my daughter Alice to see the film this weekend. Captain Marvel has a very Walt-like lesson to it that is good for everyone.
Thanks to Marvel and CGV Theaters for the amazing show.
MiceChat has more Marvel goodness for you tomorrow. Please check back!
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